MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much. And thanks to everyone who is
here today. I want to thank Mrs. Ciroma, Minister of Women's Affairs.
Thank you for your very kind introduction. I want to thank everyone in
Nigeria for their very, very warm welcome. I want to acknowledge the
Minister of Education Madam Obaji for accompanying me today. She
accompanied me everywhere we went. Thank you very much for joining me
today. The Minister of Finance, who joined me at the roundtable today,
and educated me a lot about what women can do in this role of finance,
thank you very much for joining me today. And the Minister of Health,
thank you very much for being here.

I also want to thank everyone else here who is a member of the
government of Nigeria and all of you here who work with NGOs in Nigeria
to make sure the men and women of Nigeria have a chance to develop
healthy and successful lives.

Also today are representatives from UNESCO. I'm honored to serve
as the Honorary Ambassador of the United Nations Decade for Literacy.
The United States shares the goal of UNESCO to advance education for
all. It should be our expectation that every child -- boy and girl,
rich and poor -- has access to education.

I also want to thank the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John
Campbell. Thank you very, very much for welcoming me here to your post.

I had a very interesting and informative discussion with some of
Nigeria's women leaders today. Thank you very much to the Honorable
Sani, Chair of the House of Representatives' Committee on Women's
Affairs. Thank you for moderating our roundtable.

It's fitting that we meet here in this place. Esther Mangzha, the
Director of the National Center for Women's Development, does wonderful
work documenting the contributions Nigerian women have made and are
still making to the development of their nation and the world.

The women I met today represent different parts of Nigerian society.
Some serve in government. Others work for NGOs and international
organizations. They all share the same goal, though, which is to give
all women in Nigeria the opportunity to contribute to the life of their
country.

The people of the United States share your goal, and the women of the
United States know your struggle. It was only in the last century, 150
years after our Declaration of Independence, that women attained the
vote in the United States. Young girls need role models whose lives are
examples of achievement, and today I met some of the role models for
Nigeria's girls.

It's increasingly common for African women to be leaders in their
government. On Monday, the world witnessed the inauguration of
Liberia's President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. (Applause.) President
Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be elected the leader of an
African nation. This is a historic time -- for Liberia, for Africa, and
for women everywhere. President Johnson-Sirleaf is an example for young
women around the world of a woman who has risen to the top of her
government through hard work, faith in democracy, and a belief in the
power of education.

The question we must answer now is how do we nurture the development
of the next generation of women leaders in Africa and worldwide. The
answer begins with education. Education is the foundation of a happy
and healthy life. Educated children grow up to be adults who have more
opportunities to work, to support their families, and to fully
participate in the life of their communities. It's so important to
educate boys and girls, because boys and girls can make important
contributions to our world.

Sadly, too many children around the world do not have access to
education. The problem is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa.
More than one-third of primary school-age children are not enrolled in
school at all. Of those who do enter the first grade, fewer than half
will complete primary school. Books and other learning materials are
often in short supply. It's not uncommon in rural areas to have just
one copy of a textbook for a whole classroom. Girls, especially girls
in rural villages, are much less likely than boys to attend school, and
students who live in poverty have few opportunities for schooling
because their parents do not have the money to pay their school fees or
buy their uniforms and books.

The people of the United States believe in Africa's future. We know,
as you do, that education is vital to a better future for all of the
world's children, and we're working with you to make education available
and accessible to more children in Africa.

Education in Africa is a priority for President Bush. His Africa
Education Initiative is a $600 million commitment to provide books,
scholarships, school uniforms and teacher training so that more children
can attend school. The Africa Education Initiative includes funding to
train 920,000 teachers in 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. As of
December, more than 300,000 new and experienced teachers had received
training. The Initiative has also facilitated the shipment of over two
million books to African schools and libraries.

A major goal of President Bush's Africa Education Initiative is to
enroll more girls in school. To meet that goal, the United States
sponsors the Ambassadors Girls' Scholarship Program, which will provide
550,000 scholarships to girls at the primary and secondary level. So
far, 120,000 scholarships have been provided in 40 countries. The
scholarships pay for tuition, fees, books, uniforms, and other essential
supplies.

This morning, I met a student named Glory, in the ninth grade at the
Model Secondary School in Abuja. Glory's parents work hard, but they
have difficulty paying for schooling for her and her siblings. Thanks
to the Ambassadors Girls' Scholarship Program, Glory is able to stay in
school and work with mentors who help her stay on the path to achieving
her dreams.

I saw Glory at her school today, and she told me that her dream is to
become a doctor so that she can help find a cure for diseases like
HIV/AIDS. I'm encouraged by the hopes and dreams of young people. All
children should have great dreams, and they should believe in a future
where every dream is possible.

The people of the United States are pleased to work with schools in
Nigeria to make education a reality for thousands of students. We
support these scholarships, because we believe that investing in a
child's education will produce benefits many times over in the future.

An educated woman is better able to provide for her family
economically, and to be an advocate for her own children's education.
She has the knowledge and the skills to find new ways to improve life in
her community. She's prepared to be an active participant in society,
and perhaps even a national leader.

Education produces many social benefits, and perhaps none greater than
better health. The United States is working with governments and
private organizations through Africa to prevent HIV/AIDS, and to provide
treatment and care to those who are already infected by the disease. We
all know that education is our greatest ally. Educated girls and boys
are more likely to know what HIV is and how to prevent infection. Girls
who are educated have more economic and social resources to rely on, and
therefore can avoid early marriage and have more of a chance to
negotiate their own sexual lives. In fact, educated young women have
lower rates of HIV/AIDS, healthier families, and higher rates of
education for their own children.

Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the people of
the United States are supporting treatment for more than 400,000 men,
women and children in 15 focus countries, including 29,000 people in
Nigeria. Our partnership with Nigeria has been vital to achieving this
early success. The United States has a dedicated partner in the fight
against HIV/AIDS in President Obasanjo. Long before experts thought it
was possible, President Obasanjo believed treatment was possible in
Africa and launched a treatment program in Nigeria. He champions
antiretroviral treatments, not just for the people of Nigeria, but for
all Africans, and he stood with President Bush and U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan at the White House in the Rose Garden for the
announcement of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In 2004, the United States provided Nigeria with almost $71 million
through the PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan, to prevent, treat
and manage the effects of HIV/AIDS. In 2005, we provided more than $110
million, and I'm pleased to announce that in 2006, the United States is
providing more than $163 million to overcome HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
(Applause.)

Resources from the United States support organizations that are
already here on the ground, founded by Nigerians -- faith-based and
other humanitarian groups that have long established relationships with
the people in Nigeria. Earlier today, I visited one of those places --
St. Mary's Hospital. St. Mary's first partnered with the United States
to provide treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Advances in drug therapies make it possible for women who are
HIV-positive to give birth to babies who are free from the disease.

In South Africa last summer, I met several mothers who successfully
prevented transmission of HIV to their children, and we're all hopeful
that soon an entire generation will be born free from HIV. (Applause.)

This morning, antiretroviral drugs paid for by the people of the
United States through PEPFAR were delivered to St. Mary's. These drugs
will be used to treat more than 500 patients living with HIV/AIDS. I
also saw the new laboratory at St. Mary's, which will allow the staff to
perform the tests that are necessary to support the lifesaving
antiretroviral treatment.

The United States is proud to work with the people of Nigeria on
many important issues. We will continue to work together to help the
next generation reach its full potential. When we provide education,
better health care, and growing opportunities for women, every boy and
every girl will know that they can be a part of Nigeria's bright future.

I'm much inspired by the warmth and the energy of the people I've
met in Nigeria today. Thank you for your generous hospitality, thank
you for your warm welcome, and may God bless the people of Nigeria.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)